COP17: Kyrgyzstan suggests $10M fund to protect Issyk-Kul

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov has proposed a special trust fund to protect Lake Issyk-Kul, pledging an initial 10 million US dollars from the state budget. As reported by the Kabar news agency, he called on international donors and financial institutions to support the initiative.

Speaking at the Leaders' Summit of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Yerevan, Zhaparov stressed the need for stronger international cooperation on climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. He warned that glacier melt across Central Asia, driven by global warming, threatens mountain ecosystems, and proposed four initiatives, including a dedicated mountain program under the Global Environment Facility and a global mountain sustainability center in Bishkek.

Zhaparov said the lake's water level has fallen by nearly 14 meters over the past 170 years, with the decline accelerating to around seven centimeters a year in the last five years. Authorities have removed nearly 70 tons of waste and approximately 580,000 meters of illegal synthetic fishing nets over the past four years. He also invited governments and international organizations to the Second Global Mountain Summit "Bishkek+25," scheduled for October 21-23, 2027, in Bishkek.